We've been praying for a coworker of Scott's who lost an unsaved son in a car accident a few months ago. Little Girl has been really impressed by this story and prays that Mrs True wouldn't be sad anymore almost every night.
One night, Big Boy asked why Mrs True was sad. We explained that her son had died and had gone to hell. Sam was horrified, especially when we explained that once you die, you get no more chances. He demanded, "Why would God do that???"
I was both surprised and impressed that he grasped the situation enough at his young age to ask such a good question. We tried to explain the holiness of God and the depravity of man in simple terms for a 5-year-old, but that is a subject that will take more than few conversations. (We're also trying very hard not to scare our kids into a profession of faith. We want them to understand the whole message of the gospel before they make such a decision, not just pray a prayer because they're afraid of hell.)
Anyway, most of this had flown right over Little Girl's head.
Then Big Boy asked, "Where is hell?"
Little Girl jumped right in. "It's in the living room!"
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Last night at dinner, Big Boy mentioned how much he wanted to take swimming lessons again. Little Girl also wants to take swimming lessons, so she talked about how she'll get to take them when she turns 3. (At age 3, kids can take lessons on their own. Before then, a parent must accompany them into the water. Since Little Boy was born, I haven't been able to do this with her, so she's eagerly anticipating this big milestone!)
Big Boy starting telling us how, at the outside pool, the lifeguards helped all the kids jump off the diving board on the last day of lessons. Little Girl said she would be really scared to jump into the water, but then immediately reminded herself and us that "God is always with us so we don't need to be afraid." (She has nightmares a lot, and is scared of the basement, so we remind her of this almost daily.)
Then, as if thinking through how God would be with her while jumping off the diving board, she said, "God needs a swimsuit."
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This morning we got a dusting of snow. Big Boy has new snowboots, so he was thrilled at the opportunity to use them. While peering out the window, he suddenly noticed that Jazz, our cat, had left paw prints in the snow. This gave him an idea.
"Hey mom, can I put my snowboots on and see what kind of paw prints I make?"
